Dinner 3/31

Panade
(bread, onion, kale, soy cheese, veg stock, salt, pepper -- From the "Zuni Cafe" cookbook by Judy Rodgers)

Green Beans


* Liz has become very adept at making this dish -- and picking the right evening to cook it, especially when she has to work late (like tonight). Put it in the oven at 3pm at 275 degrees and let it go for 3.5 hours, then crank it up to 375 for 15 minutes to give it a bit of crust and it's good to go... drank some of the Coturri Maclise Merlot with it -- a good match for the greens

Dinner 3/30

Lentil and Seitan Stew
(seitan, carrots, lentils, onion, salt and pepper)

Celeriac and Potato Soup with Truffle Oil
(from Jamie Oliver)

Braised Leeks

French Bread

 

 

 

 

Dinner 3/29

Orange Tofu
(from Cook's Illustrated)*

Stir-fried Basmati Rice

* sort of like the General Tso's from the other night -- and an equally as tasty version of the classic Chinese takeout dish...

 

 

 

 

Dinner 3/28

Smoky Peanut Mole*
(from Rick Bayless)

Grilled Asparagus**

Plantain and Soyrizo Mash

Rice Pilaf
(onion, garlic, mexican oregano, veg stock)

Tomato and Chipotle Soup
(from Jim Peterson's "Soups")

* fairly easy to make (and on a Monday no less) this turned out nicely -- smoky (the roasted peanuts) and spicy (chipotles and anchos)

** yes, I know it's the seaon, but I'm getting rapidly tired of asparagus ;)

Easter Dinner

Easter Dinner 3/27

Vegetable Pot Pie
(carrot, celery, onion, mushroom, veg stock, tamari, salt and pepper)

Braised Brussel Sprouts

Carrot Crecy
(carrots, onion, ginger, veg stock)

Grilled Asparagus

Homemade Ciabata

Mixed Green Salad
(fig vinaigrette)

Dessert

Carrot Cake

Lemon-Lime Cheesecake w/ Macerated Balsamic Strawberries



It was a spectacular carrot cake...

Dinner 3/26

Sweet and Sour Seitan
(red onion, red bell pepper, pineapple, seitan

Stir-Fried Rice
(jasmine rice, tamari, toasted sesame oil, scallions)

 

 

 

 

Dinner 3/25

Chipotle and Soyrizo Wraps*
(onion, garlic, soyrizo, cream cheese, chiptole and cilantro)



* an experiment -- albeit a tasty one. these were just on the edge of my heat tolerance. I love spicy food, but I also like to taste the food -- I'm funny that way ;) so the balance was good, but it was missing some contrast -- the addition of lettuce would helped not only the taste but also the monocromatic color scheme (as you can tell from the picture). Also, cutting them like sushi seemed like a good idea, but like the real thing, you need a razor sharp knife and quick hands...

Dinner 3/24

Pea Soup

Homemade Ciabatta

Sauteed Oyster Mushrooms

Grilled Asparagus
(blanched, then marinated w/ olive oil, tamari, salt and pepper and finally grilled)

 

 

 

 

Dinner 3/23

Broccoli Rabe (rapini) w/Sun-Dried Tomatoes over Fusilli

Braised Carrots

Shredded Cabbage Salad*
(w/ creamy dill dressing)


* it was very close to cole slaw, but somehow... just different enough ;)

Dinner 3/22

Capellini Pomodoro
(tomato, onion, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper)

Mixed Green Salad
(fig vinaigrette)

Dinner 3/21

Pasta Puttanesca over Fusilli Pasta*
(plum tomato, soyrizo, onion, garlic, red pepper flake, apple cider(!), kalamata olive, eggplant)


We rented the Incredibles and ate dinner together for a change... the apple cider was sort of a "needs a bit of sugar.. hmm... what if..." ;) it tasted fine with no added apple flavor, but rounded the sauce off nicely.

Dinner 3/20

Deep-Fried Dumplings
(stuffed with soyrizo, napa cabbage, scallions, cilantro and sesame oil and a citrus dipping sauce)

Sauteed Maitake Mushrooms

Hoisin Green Beans

Pan-Fried Noodle Pie
(boiled udon noodles, then pan-fried with rooster sauce, scallions, tamari and pepper until crispy)

Dinner 3/19

General Tso's Tofu*

Jasmine Rice



* Liz watched Food 911 this morning, so we had it for dinner tonight. The substitution is pretty straightforward with the exception of not marinating the tofu as you would the chicken -- we stir-fried the tofu (with a shot of tamari) before adding it to the cornstarch slurry and then deep-drying it for the crispness -- and substituting maple syrup for the honey -- damn spicy (and tasty) if I do say so myself...

Dinner 3/18

Fried Polenta and Tomato w/ Basil Vegenaise Dressing over Red Leaf Lettuce

Sauteed Lion's Mane (Pom-Pom) Mushrooms

Grilled Asparagus


A sort of "what do we have that's leftover, and can be put on a bed of lettuce?" meal ;)

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner 3/17

Colcannon
(mashed potato and kale)

Beer Gravy
(mushroom, onion, garlic, flour, brewer's yeast, water, beer, red miso)

"Cock of the North"
(seitan stew w/ mushrooms)

Soda Bread


St. Patrick's Day... of course ;)

Dinner 3/16

Tofu with Couscous and Apricot wrapped in Mung Bean Sheets*

Fried Polenta

Braised Brussel Sprouts


* Made this to try with 2003 Coturri Freiberg Zinfandel from last night (which has a hit of Apricot in the nose -- another fantastic wine from Tony).

Coturri Wine Tasting Dinner 3/15 @ Riverside Wine and Imports

Another spectacular series of wines from Tony... I'm always knocked out by the quality and this time was no exception

Here's the list of food we prepared -- as you can see from the pic there were other non-vegan foods, but we had nothing to do with that ;)

Inside Out Sushi Rolls
(avocado, scallion, carrots, daikon and wasabi)

Phyllo Cups with Curried Tofu
(apple juice, curry, currants, tofu, vegenaise, salt and pepper)

Stuffed Grape Leaves
(basmati rice, paprika, allspice, salt and pepper)

Marinated Endive Leaves Stuffed with White Bean Cassoulet
(endive: white wine and mustard vinaigrette; cassoulet: cannellini beans, soyrizo, onion, garlic, herbs de provence)

Polenta topped with Caponata
(eggplant, red bell pepper, onion, tomato, vinegar and sugar)

Truffle Oil Popcorn

Double Chocolate Stout Brownies

Dinner 3/14

Stir-Fry
(hoisin tofu, carrot, red bell pepper, scallion, cilantro)

Jasmine Rice

Braised Carrots in Sake

Hoisin Green Beans


tasting tomorrow, quick and easy tonight...

 

 

 

Dinner 3/13

Split Pea Soup

Focaccia Pizza

Blanched/Grilled Purple Asparagus

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner 3/12

Potato, Tomato and Sage Soup

Focaccia Pizza
(soy cheese, kalamata olives)

Braised Leeks

 

 

 

 

Sweet and Sour Seitan, Jasmine Rice, Sweet Potato and Pineapple Gratin

Dinner 3/11

Sweet and Sour Seitan
(seitan, pineapple, onion, carrot, red bell pepper, scallions, garlic, ginger and tamari -- the sauce was ketchup, cider vinegar, cornstarch, sugar)

Jasmine Rice

Sweet Potato and Pineapple Gratin
(sweet potato, coconut milk, pineapple, shallots -- from "Vegan Planet")

Dinner 3/10

Panade

Grilled Purple Asparagus*

Desert

Key Lime Cheescake


* surprisingly tasty and they didn't turn completely green after blanching them first -- adding a quick marinade (olive oil, tamari and pepper) -- before the grilling...

Dinner 3/9

Spaghetti w/ Tomato Sauce*

Garlic Bread

* Liz came through again with the food, on this the second of the back-to-back shows -- this time UnSilent Film 3: The Passion of Joan of Arc and the main reason blogging has been sporadic lately -- there's a great deal of prep (and promotion) that goes into putting on one of these events. Happily, the show turned out great, we got a big (and appreciative crowd) and I made some of my Truffle Popcorn, which turned out to be a nice surprise for those early attendees. What's watching a movie without popcorn? ;)

Dinner 3/8

Stir-Fry
(tofu, carrot, red bell pepper, baby corn, ginger, garlic and tamari)

Re-fried Basmati Rice

* Liz took care of dinner tonight while I was out playing the first night of back-to-back shows (which I haven't done in almost eight years), namely the "Rock The Runway" fashion show at Kent State Univesity. Fun show, we had about 300+ people and a nice energy and buzz -- played some of my music before and after to good response. There's a wrap-up in the Stater where I'm mentioned somewhere around paragraph 16 -- and despite the awkward sentence structure, I did not make the appetizers and the music ;)

Dinner 3/7

Eggplant Parmesan and Marinara Sauce over Pasta

Homemade Ciabatta Bread

Mixed Greens Salad
(w/ fig vinaigrette)

 

 

 

Dinner 3/6

Peking Tofu*

Jasmine Rice

Steamed Broccoli

Scallion Pancakes


* OK, puns aside, sauteed tofu w/ hoisin and orange juice, wrapped in a Mung Bean sheet (my new favorite wrapping), fried in a non-stick pan w/ grapeseed oil and a little more hoisin and orange juice. Crispy and tasty indeed...